Chapter Text
"It'll be fun! A new school, a new home, and new friends!" your mother says, looking back at you in the backseat. Your father was at the wheel and your little sister sat next to you.
"Fun? If you mean that I won't have a clue who anybody is," You say, leaning back in your seat. You stare out at the passing cozy red brick houses. They gave off a warmth that could only be compared to the fire from a fireplace in the chill of winter. You notice a sign reading: Penny Lane. What a silly name for a street. At least, that's what you thought...
"Cheer up," your father says, "I think you'll like it here." He turns the car, coming up on a beautiful two-story red bricked house. Instead of giving off warmth this house gave off cold despair, like no one had ever settled in the home. There had to be something wrong with it based off how many owners it had in the past...or maybe the neighbors that surrounded it.
Your mother had mentioned that you were moving in next to a woman and her nephew. He was around your age, maybe a little older, but he was supposed to introduce you to everything. You just hoped he wasn't a jerk or something like that. Maybe he would be sweet, kind, considerate...maybe even cute--but that was most likely not going to happen.
"Here we are!" your father cheers, parking the car. You step out of the car, taking in the old and worn looking house. This was going to be a very interesting start.
"Come get your luggage," your mother taps yours shoulder before passing you to head up to the house. Your sister dances past you to join your mother's side. She skipped freely with the joy of puppy. Sighing, you turn to grab your bags from the backside of the car.
The bags were not heavy as your mother insisted starting anew, which meant almost anything you owned that was not essential was donated to charity. Only a few of your belongings survived the donation including your brush, makeup, bass guitar, and your childhood stuffed bear. There were more but those were the only worth mentioning.
"This place looks beautiful," your father says before closing up the back of the car and leading you inside.
Inside the place is polished, clean; it was obvious someone had recently cleaned it out. The front door connected to the front room where a sofa, coffee table, and piano sat. You resisted the urge to brush the piano keys as your father ushered you past.
The next room lead to the living space and kitchen area. The kitchen already held some cooking supplies which made your mother squeal with excitement. You rolled your eyes, just wanting to go to your room.
"You should take your sister upstairs," your mother said, guiding you and yours sister to the stairs.
"Yes, mom," you rush up the stairs, excited by what could be up there. Your sister tried her best to keep pace, but found it difficult. "Come on, Sophie," you say, peering into every room as you head down the cramped hallway.
"You're too fast," she huffs, stumbling after you. Finally, you find your room at the end of the hall next to the bathroom on the left and Sophie's room to the right.
Your room is small but cozy. There is a nice space by the window for writing and reading like you had dreamed so often. You set your luggage down by the bed that already sat there.
Looking out the window you could see into the neighbors yard and home.
There was a boy outside with a guitar in his hand, you wondered if this was the nephew your mother had mentioned earlier.
As you stared at him, he seemed to have guessed your presence and looked up at your window. He gives a goofy wave, running up to the fence and peering over it at you. You open the window to try to talk to him.
"Hello there," he smiled, cheekily. You notice his brown hair and eyes that peered into your own with certain glimmer of mischief and laughter. A cap sat on his head making him look like a news boy.
"Hi," you reply simply, unsure of what to make of the boy.
"Who are you? I've never seen you around here before. I reckon you're moving into Anderson's old house huh? She was a real piece of work," the boy shouted. You can't help but laugh a little at his remark. Who was this boy?
"Wouldn't you like to know," she calls back, laughing.
"Well, I'm John," he says, taking off his cap and waving it at you.
"I'm Y/N," you say. John smiles, placing the cap back on his head. Suddenly, your door jolts open and Sophie runs into the room.
"Who is that, big sister?" she asks, peering out the window. John notices her immediately and waves at her.
"Name's John," he says again, being overly friendly. This John was so nice, but you couldn't help but feel this was a false opening to a show of twists and turns. His accent pinched his words in the wrong places like he was hiding something...pretending to be something he wasn't.
"We should go down and meet him, big sis," Sophie says, leaving the window and barreling down stairs.
"Sophie!" you call, wanting to talk to her first about this instead of jumping into the ocean of sharks. You chase after her, but you don't catch her until she makes it to the front door where your parents are perched, intrigued by your sudden fight.
"What's going on?" your mother asks with her hands on her hips. You quickly explain the situation with John which causes your mother to push you outside to go meet him.
Outside, John had ventured from his fence to the sidewalk, waiting to meet you. Behind him stood a very imposing woman who you assumed to be his aunt.
"You must be John," your mother says next to you. Her hands clasped together in a calm and welcoming gesture. John gave a nervous smile, glancing at his aunt.
"Yes, this must be your daughters...this is my Aunt Mimi," He gestures towards the imposing woman. She took a drag from her one of the many smokes you would see her have over the next few months.
"It's a pleasure to meet you young ladies, I hope my son as been kind to you...especially since he wasn't to the last guests." Mimi glared at John.
"Ms. Anderson was the worst teacher ever!" he argued, but he quickly shut his mouth after another glare from his aunt.
"He has been delightful," you say, hoping this would ease the tension between everyone. Mimi nodded, seeming to relax for now. John gave you a thankful smile.
"Is John walking you to school tomorrow?" Mimi asks looking to your mother.
"If he would like to we would greatly appreciate it," your mother replies. John looks at you again, giving a slight smile at her words.
"I can take her," he says, winking at you. You didn't quite know what the wink meant yet, but you were going to find out soon enough.
"We'll see you tomorrow at 8 than," Mimi says, ushering John back to their home.
"Have a good day!" you mother acts extra cheery, waving and all. Once they are gone, your mother pulls you and Sophie back inside.
"Are you really sending me to school the day after we move in?" you ask, a little frustrated and stressed.
"Tomorrow is the first day of school and you need to make an impression." Your mother walks into the kitchen, preparing for supper that night. You sigh, heading back upstairs to your room.
You can't help but look out the window once more, you see John rushing outside excitedly followed by three other boys. You smile watching them dance around, holding instruments of their own.
Maybe, just maybe tomorrow was going to be a good day.